Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

Chloe Reed had already left the Grant Family Estate. She drove slowly down the road. Outside, the night was as dark as ink, the streetlights casting a dim, yellow glow. The light inside the car flickered, illuminating her expressionless face.

Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.

’The ”surprise,” of course, was Sunny Reed.’

She had left the bedroom and gone straight to Judith Pierce.

She had done all she could. The rest was up to Judith Pierce.

’Judith Pierce must have already spoken to Sunny Reed.’

’Sunny Reed would never have refused.’

’She had been subtly stringing Walker Grant along all this time. Wasn’t it all for a day like today?’

Chloe Reed pressed her lips together, an emptiness blooming in her heart.

’How long has it been?’

’Half an hour...’

’Judith Pierce had prepared the drug. It was bound to be potent. Half an hour was more than enough for things to happen.’

Chloe Reed picked up the water bottle beside her and took a sip, trying to calm her nerves.

Headlights flashed in her rearview mirror. A car shot past her at high speed, then screeched to a halt right in front of her.

Chloe Reed slammed on her brakes, her heart sinking.

’Did it fail?’

Immediately, two more cars pulled up from behind, boxing her in on either side and blocking any chance of escape.

Then she realized that at some point, this entire stretch of road had been cleared of other cars.

Sitting in her car, Chloe Reed felt a strange chill rise from the soles of her feet, slowly enveloping her entire body.

A third car stopped behind her, followed by the SLAM of a door.

Chloe Reed’s eyelashes fluttered. She glanced up at the rearview mirror, and her pupils contracted when she saw the streak of blood winding down the man’s left arm.

He was backlit by bright headlights, casting his face in a hazy, dim light. He looked like a demon rising from the depths of the night, his features flickering in and out of view, glinting with a sinister, malevolent light.

It felt as if the blood in Chloe Reed’s veins had frozen solid.

’It really... failed.’

’But how could this have happened?’

’Sunny Reed wouldn’t have made a sound, and she even wore my perfume. Between that and the drug, Walker shouldn’t have been able to tell...’

”Chloe, get out.”

As her thoughts raced, Walker Grant reached her car. His voice came through the glass, muffled.

Chloe Reed felt a stab of fear.

She turned to look at him and saw that half of his white shirt was soaked in blood. There were even splatters of it on his cheek.

The stain was especially dark on his left arm, where the blood had bled into a large patch. In the darkness, the color seemed deeper, more terrifying.

His handsome face remained placid, but his sharp, almond-shaped eyes held a strange light as they gazed at her, filled with both grief and hatred.

”Chloe.”

His voice grew heavier as he repeated her name.

Chloe Reed’s heart clenched. She squeezed her eyes shut before opening the car door and stepping out.

A light breeze drifted past, carrying the metallic scent of his blood to her.

He tilted his head slightly, studying her intently, as if he’d never seen her before.

Chloe Reed avoided his gaze and asked softly, ”What is the meaning of this?”

”Where’s the gift?”

Walker Grant asked, his tone deceptively light.

Chloe Reed’s breath caught in her throat. She looked up at him. ”I already gave it to you, didn’t I? Don’t you like it?”

”Chloe Reed!”

Walker Grant lunged forward, grabbing her by the throat and pinning her against the car. His dark, almond-shaped eyes stared daggers at her.

His Adam’s apple bobbed violently, his voice agonizingly strained.